iPhone passes 51% marketshare in US

The iPhone continued it’s upward motion for marketshare in the US, capturing 51.2% of the US smartphone market, this is an increase of 6.3% from the same period last year. Android now holds 44.2% of the US smartphone market, down .4% from the same quarter last year. These numbers come after the first full quarter after the launch of the iPhone 5. These numbers break Apple’s previous marketshare record of 49.3%, seen after they launched the iPhone 4S, and were reportedly helped by the iPhone 5 and older iPhone models. Kantar Worldpanel ComTech analyst Mary-Ann Parlato says:

“Apple’s continual improvement is thanks to both the iPhone 5 and older models attracting various customer groups, from repeat Apple buyers, first time smartphone buyers and those coming from other smartphone brands”.

People switching from other smartphones accounted for the largest single block of new iPhone sales at 36%, with 19% of new iOS sales coming from people who were switching from Android. Those upgrading from a previous iPhone made up 35%, while 30% of iPhone buyers purchased their first smartphone.

These numbers come after Verizon released their sales figures earlier today showing that they had sold 6.2 million iPhones in the last quarter, a record number and more than double the number of iPhones sold in the same quarter a year ago. After many weeks of pundits shouting about the doom of Apple, the numbers are beginning to paint a different picture. We’ll have an even better one tomorrow, when Apple releases its Q4 earnings.

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Reader comments

iPhone passes 51% marketshare in US

Apple's fine, everyone that is spelling out their doom needs to settle down. Market share is not as important to Apple as profit, but to claim 51% marketshare is incredible, considering they offer three models, basically all identical and able to run the latest OS, whereas Android has probably a thousand devices, most not able or willing to run the latest OS. That is a stunning achievement, when you think about it.

I tend to think the anti-Apple pundits look at Apple's revenues like Congress looks at program cuts. A program "cut" in Washington speak is really spending the same as last year - the only reduction is in the increase in spending target. Double talk. Apple doomsayers see Apple's quarter is "only" producing less obscene profits, and therefore it's a fail. Come on.

We will have to wait and see what actually happens, but Bloomberg were predicting today that Apple will report a FALL in profits for the first time in 10 years tomorrow.
Also, someone here last week was comparing the Apple brand to Gucci and Louis Vuitton. These brands would never aspire for 50%, at that level you are more common than exclusive.

The title of "iPhone passes 51% marketshare in US" should be changed to "Kantar survey has iPhone at 51.2% market share in the USA".

The former is a stated fact. It's not. iPhone market share in the USA is somewhere in the 50% to 60% for Q4 2012 if the iPhone's share of ATT smartphones was like last year (~80%) and its share of Sprint smartphones was like last year (~50%). Nobody knows it to anything more accurate than that. Kantar shouldn't even be reporting results to 3 digits of accuracy.

If you go by activation numbers from the carriers, iPhone marketshare in Q4 12 should be closer to 60%, if they had the same trends at Q4 11. We'll see. The Kantar survey seems to lag the reported activation numbers from the carriers.

Well add me into the "switched to iPhone from another device" for the next report :) Will be picking up an iPhone 5 in a few weeks when my current contract on a different carrier (who shall remain nameless, but refuses to carry the iphone, and is selling my market (chicago) to sprint) is up.

You can add me too. I'm switching back to the iPhone come February as I'm just tired of modding my Android device. I'm looking forward to coming back to the "it just works" side of smartphones. Plus it will be nice to actually get updates as soon as Apple releases them unlike with Android where you hope and pray you will get the update.

The doom and gloom nonsense is stock manipulation, pure and simple and has nothing to do with sales of iPhones. I've got one. You've got one. And we don't all have the iPhone 5. Many forget that the 3GS, 4, and 4S are still being sold and unlike Android phones, which can become obsolete a year later, the 3GS, 4, and 4S still get the job done for those who have them.

Exactly, the SEC should be all over this. I really think people should be investigated, jailed and made an example of. It's the only way this shit will slow down. The mom and pop investor got stiffed this year.